Art Girlz Scrapbook Nook

No Photos? Scrapbook with Postcards

My first trip to Myrtle Beach, SC was a family "reunion" of sorts. We all stayed the weekend in a big beach house over Memorial Day weekend. Did not see the ocean until the day we were leaving! So much other stuff to do.

I have only 1 photo of us sitting at the pool. But didn't bring my camera to the beach. What can you do? I've always collected postcards of places I visit. I am not sure why, but these came in really handy. I used a postcard of the beach to show just what it looked like -- and much better than I would have been able to capture.

A very simple layout, with a stamped title and some journaling.

Next time you go somewhere, check out the postcards!

Non-Traditional Colors for Holiday Scrapbooking

I love printed, designer paper as much as I have always loved fabrics. I guess I'm a paper collector. There are many photos of family gathered together for holidays. And there are such cute holiday papers, stamps, embellishments ... it's difficult to choose. Although I really love the traditional red & green colors, my younger daughter likes PINK!

I'm thinking I will never find PINK papers for Christmas -- and then I saw them. These papers have pink, red, (lime) green and sparklies. I couldn't decide which paper to use, so I made the curvy border so I could have all the designs!

Just how cute is this?! I think the papers were from "Paper Adventures", and they had coordinating round acrylic stickers which I just had to have. I also mixed in some brads that I had in colors of red, lime green & pink.

The title was made with Queen & Company's FONTASTICS chipboard alphabets. There are a variety of FONTASTICS sets that coordinate with Queen & Company's collections, such as Cloud 9, Kissy Fit, Miss Priss & You Go Girl.

If the colors or design don't fit with your papers -- cover with paper, ink or stamp on them. That is what we did on this page.

To make the curve, we used the Bo Bunny Flexible Ruler, which we loved!!! Bend to any curvy shape, draw line or carefully use craft knife (x-acto) to cut the shape.

A fun page with glitter and bling in my daughter's favorite color:  PINK!!

Altered Office Supplies -- Jumbo Paper & Binder Clips

Several manufacturers have come out with altered paper clips -- but if you make your own ... you can make the design & colors match your projects.

  I used some of my favorite papers by Stampin'Up! The papers came in a coordinating set, so matching colors or patterns was not necessary. It's easier when that work is done for you.

I started by making the JUMBO PAPER CLIPS. The clips I used are about 4" long. Found them in an office supply store. When they say JUMBO, they really mean JUMBO.

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Making the JUMBO PAPER CLIP:

1) Using round (nesting) punches in sizes 1 3/8 and 1 1/4", cut the smaller circle out of printed paper and the larger circle out of solid cardstock.

2) Attach the punched round pieces to the clip by using foam dots or pop-up glue dots.

3) Attach front and back pieces at the top of the clip, making a "sandwich" with the clip on the inside of two circles.

4) Tie ribbons on one side of the paper clip (as shown).

5) Punch brad through flower. We layered a smaller flower on top of a larger flower. Mixing and matching styles. Using glue dot, attach to front circle.

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USE these clips for: bookmarks, embellishments on scrapbook pages or home decor.

These altered jumbo clips are simple, quick to make, and inexpensive. Best of all, you can use up small pieces of scrap ribbon, paper and other items you have in your stash.

These make great gifts for teachers, co-workers and fellow paper crafters!

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*Supplies needed for making the jumbo BINDER CLIPS...

Making the JUMBO BINDER CLIP:

There are many ways to use these binder clips and even more ways to embellish them. I have shown just one way to decorate these office supplies.

1) cut printed paper the same width as the binder clip (these are 2"). Measure the length from front around bottom to the back. I used pieces that were slightly longer than I needed, and folded over the extra. Use glue dots to attach paper. This seems the easiest adhesive to use and the strongest. We do like to use glue sticks, but we couldn't get them in the corners or curves.

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Use glue dots at the two top corners of clip (front & back) and the bottom. (See photos of binder clip showing how paper is wrapped around clip.)

Be sure to add adhesive to the bottom of the clip. This gives the clip a firm base and it will stand very stable.

This was one of those "learning" moments. The first ones we made we only glued the front and back and not the bottom, and they were unstable.

To give weight to the bottom of these clips, you may want to glue something small, such as flat glass marble on the inside bottom of the clip.

  We are making these clips to use as photo holders or mini note holders. These clips can also be used for name holders at place settings for a special event. You could spray paint the clip any color and then decorate too! These have a black rubbery material at the end of the clips which helps hold photos or notes. However, you can purchase other clips without this -- especially if you want to spray paint them a uniform color.

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2) After wrapping base of clip, cut a slim strip of paper to wrap around the base of the clip. In our sample, we used printed paper that was not very thick, so we cut it twice as wide as we needed and folded to give it more stability.

  3) Using glue dots, attach the pink stripe paper. Start in the middle of the back side and wrap all around clip.

4) Cut piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around clip and tie in front. Attach with glue dot in the back and wrap around to front and tie in knot.

After decorating with the paper and ribbon, attach any other embellishments you would like. Attach several ribbons around the clip, or beads or buttons!

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Since these clips are so small, chipboard shapes and alphabet monograms would work wonderfully.

The possibilities are endless -- die cuts, chipboard, stickers, beads, buttons, felt. Even add 3-Dimensional items!

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Close-up of completed binder clip. See the pink stripe paper and orange grosgrain ribbon around the clip. This "hides" the hinge area.

The lime is an embellishment we made from some left-over kids fun foam! We'll be putting the tutorial for the lime on our site soon!

The completed binder clips and paper clips -- using coordinating papers, ribbons and embellishments. We made a dozen of each of these items in less than an hour. To do this, we cut all the pieces before starting assembly (after careful measuring).

If you want additional embellishments, add them at any time! Glitter can be added to the lime piece to add some BLING!

How to: Use up Products in your Stash by Setting Goals & Rewards

I made a New Year's Resolution this year to actually USE SUPPLIES IN MY STASH of scrapbooking papers and products. There are new products coming out all the time. These can be really irresistable. But the reality is that most of us have a limited space to store their craft or hobby items.

The goal I have is to make at least 12 scrapbook pages per month. That would be 144 pages in a year. That's a lot of pages and certainly more than I currently have scrapped in years and years! How do you keep to using some of your stash? Set a few goals and rewards:

1) Setting GOALS & REWARDS: Set a goal of # number of pages per month (or whatever goal you would like) and then set a corresponding reward when your goal is reached.

2) Start working towards your goal. Use ONLY items you have in your current product stash.

3) When you've reached your goal -- mine is 12 scrapbook pages per month -- you can have a "reward".

4) REWARD: my reward is to treat myself to a certain dollar amount of paper crafting products, which sometimes include magazines or other items related to my hobby.

How successful have I been? Well, January's goal of 12 pages was reached quickly as I hosted several all day crops. The key to making your time as productive as possible is to PLAN. Using page holders, gather paper, photos and embellishments you think you'll use for those pages. Remember, sometimes you can get someone at a crop to TRADE items with you. Afterall, what you've had in your stash may be something quite new to that other scrapbooker!

I was ingtroduced to BasicGrey papers with one of the first lines we saw. Unfortunately, the name of the product line was not printed on the papers and I didn't write it down. But it's been sitting in the stash for at least 2 years!

We used several older, retired patterned papers from BasicGrey, solid cardstock, paper flowers from Prima, ribbon, buttons & clear stamps from Fancy Pants Designs (Bella's Brush set). This page uses a 5x7 size photo or could be several smaller photos clustered together.

Since this paper gave us a very "bohemian" or "free-style" look, we used ribbons mixed with fibers, buttons & flowers. The stamp set had several very large images, the corner was stamped with one of the large corner sets. Using a chocolate color very similar to the background cardstock, the image adds a subtle (free-style) interest.

If I had used a lighter color background, the torn edges of the printed paper would probably have been inked, but I soon found out that the inked edges blended in with the background!

On this side of the 2-page layout, we used more coordinating prints, added a touch of that blue and some self-stick Magic Mesh called "Dottie Ann" in a light banana color.

The red floral pieces were sized to be the mat for 4x6" photos. A title can be added anywhere, my plan was to use die-cut or chipboard letters for the title.

Here is what the 2 page layout would like side-by-side. Since there is alot going on with the pattern papers, I'm going to find photos have one focal point or zoom in and enlarge some photos.

As you can see some flowers, ribbons and magic mesh were used. The light banana cardstock used on the left-side page left enough cardstock to make a card. Instead of putting that cardstock into a scrap stash, I decided to make some cards!

Here is the card I came up with! A scrap of Daisy D's floral print was used as the background, added a flower, button, ribbons & the magic mesh. Stamped the "forever Friends" image from a clear stamp set by Autumn Leaves. The card took less than 10 minutes to put together since I had all the supplies already out. The colors even coordinate with the scrapbook pages!

Have you ever needed a quick card for a birthday, thank you or other occasion and didn't have time to make a card? I made this card as a variation, using the same products but without a sentiment. It could be sent just like this as a pretty note card, or I could stamp "Happy Birthday" or other sentiment on the inside or add to the front.

This would make a very pretty scrapbook page too -- make a mini-book of 4x4 pages using this card as the starting point. The possibilities are endless. I have kept to using supplies in my stash and am looking forward to purchasing some new items that I have seen at Winter CHA show!!!

Dew Drops by Robin's Nest

We've been reading about these new embellishments called DEW DROPS, by Robin's Nest. Dew Drops are wonderful little drops of color that you can add to just about any creative project! These tiny pebbles vary in size, but are approximately ¼” in diameter. These are flat on one side so that you can adhere them to any project. Mini Glue Dots, Ranger’s Glossy Accents, Judikin’s Diamond Glaze or Stampin’ Up!s Crystal Effects make attaching these to any project easy. Sold in solid & mixed color assortments.

This is the "Hydrangea mix", several shades of pink to magenta color drops.

Dew Drops can be used in the centers of any flowers (Primas, Bazzill -- from paper to silk), used as “rain drops”, or just added as a perfect decorative accent to your pages, cards or projects.

There are many colors and possibilities that we're excited to try these little gems. They will add a little personality to your projects and will look much different than rhinestones (which we LOVE!).

The mix with greens & blues, called "Lily Pad mix" could be used for the "rain drop" effect & more.

If you can't find these DEW DROPS (by Robin's Nest) , we found a clever & creative blogger who has found something you may want to look in to ... she's found something very comparable to these Dew Drops. Check out Lauren's site HERE.

Make Your Own: Ribbon Storage

I have seen many different types of ribbon storage, and we've tried quite a number of them, including: keeping ribbon on rolls (takes up way too much room), wrapping ribbon on cardstock and then file in a drawer, and there's also the "NO ORGANIZATION at all" method!

I like the look of the ribbons on the rolls. It's neat and you can see what you have, but it also takes up too much room for me. I like many different types of ribbons and the rolls can get to be too much, especially if there is only a little left on the roll.

I even tried keeping them wrapped on cardstock (like DMC floss-type holders), the ribbons can be filed according to type or color. However, I started getting lazy OR perhaps I was buying too much ribbon to keep filed like that and I ended up with no system of organization at all -- AGAIN!

So I went back to my trusty PEANUT BUTTER jars! We use these plastic jars for all sorts of food storage. Because they are plastic, we don't worry that they will fall & break, and they are clear so you can see what is inside. With 4 kids, we consume a LOT of peanut butter!!

Here is our clean and very plain peanut butter jar. The lids from glass canning jars (Ball jars) fit on this plastic jar if you don't want to use the plastic lid. But we're trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. This is one way of recycling the packaging. One (maybe) helpful tip: if you plan to wash these plastic jars & lids in the dishwasher, use the top rack. We have also lowered the temperature of our hot water heater, and we've still had some melting (usually in the bottom where the jar is extruded from the machines).

I'm preparing this jar to be used as a gift, but in my studio, the ribbon jars are sorted by color. If it's red ribbon of any type: organdy, satin, rick-rack, grosgrain and more ... it goes into one jar. I've also been keeping coordinating colored buttons in the jars too! I put them in a small (2x3") zipper bag to keep them handy, and just stash them down the side of the jar so I can take a quick look at the buttons.

To start my altering my peanut butter jar, I cut a strip of designer paper about 2" wide. Then I cut another strip about 2 1/2 wide. These two pieces will be layered and cover the area where glue kept the original label on the jar. I've tried getting this glue off. Run them through the dishwasher and everything, but I have ended up scratching the jar more than getting the glue residue off. It's easier to just cover it!

The papers I used were 12" long. Instead of cutting to exact jar size, I just wrapped the full lenth of paper. If you want to save some of this paper or use it on other projects, you can cut it. But the jar is big enough to take up most of the 12" length.

To cover the lid, we chose a thinner paper that was NOT cardstock weight. Laying a square piece over the top of the lid, we used the end of our bone folder to make crease marks where the lid was indented in the top. Cut around this mark and you have a perfect paper piece to go on the top!

After covering the top and the side of the jar, we used some large flowers, ribbons and a button to finish off the jar.

You could put whatever you wanted in this jar. Use different papers and fill with candy kisses! Make altered jars to give as gifts filled with all sorts of items. You could even give them as teacher gifts at the BEGINNING of the year filled with small items like chalk, erasers, pens -- items the teacher would use on their desk.

If you're a stamper, a gift of some small stamps and stamp pad would fit nicely and could be presented as a gift and storage all-in-one! Or fill with some small bath items like scented soaps to make a cute gift also. Here's the finished jar with a tag to let you know what waits inside! A quick and inexpensive gift! OR keep for yourself to add a little something extra to your crafting space or other area of your home.

Make Your Own Acrylic Embellishments -- PUBLISHED in "Scrap & Stamp Arts" Magazine

Check out the February/March 2008 edition of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine (scroll down page to see this current issue)! You'll find an article on making your own "acrylic embellishments" using brass stencils (typically used for dry embossing). We submitted this idea -- and our cards & scrapbook pages have been published!

We think it is a great way to look at the products and accessories that you already own, and use them in a different way. The photos really don't show these embellishments off as well as in person -- they are really much more 3-D and detailed than in the magazine photos.

If you haven't tried this magazine, look for it in stores or get a subscription. They feature cards, scrapbooks, home decor items and techniques each month!

"Scrapbook in a Bag" Technique

Scrapbook in a Bag? Well, that's what they called the swap we participated in recently. The swap is to make "pieces" for 12x12 pages: 2 borders, 2 embellishments, 1 journaling piece. When we send our swaps, we put the pieces in a "bag" (or wrapped in plastic wrap).

We've participated in several of these Scrapbook in a Bag swaps. This is especially good for those who like to stamp. Stamp the pieces and save for adding to a future 12x12 layout.

We wanted to share with you how we made our pieces:

1) Gather paper, stamps, inks (we used markers), cutter and other items you may need -- buttons, paper clips, colored staples, ribbons & fibers.

How do you decide on the colors to use? If you know what photos you're going to use, you may choose those colors, OR try a color wheel. We picked out caramel, red & blue after looking at our Stampin'Up! color wheel.

2) To make the pieces, we needed 2 borders. At least 11" long (for a 12x12 page) and about 2" wide; 2 stamped embellishments and 1 journaling spot.

At this point, we cut the pieces for our stamped images. Red is to be used as an accent color, so this will be the background (layering) mat. Then we cut white & caramel about 1/4" smaller than the red pieces.

Using sparkly paper and a tiny snowflake punch, we cut out some small punches which we ran through our Xyron X-150 to make them into stickers. One of our favorite, can't live without tools!

3) This stamp set from Stampin'Up! really lends itself to using markers to color the solid color areas different colors.

The technique of using markers to color the stamps is usually called "OMITTING". You can "OMIT" areas of a stamp image by just coloring the areas you want or need.

For our project, we chose markers in the same colors as our cardstock. Use markers DIRECTLY ONTO RUBBER STAMP. Color all areas before stamping. You will stamp image only once. If the ink looks like it's dried a little, hold stamp up to your mouth and breathe on colored areas of stamp. Then stamp onto paper. Now you have an image with several different colors -- and you only had to stamp image once!

OMITTING is an easy technique. It is especially good to use when you do not want a certain part of a stamp image. You just "OMIT" that by NOT coloring it.

4) We stamped the winter hat image and then cut closely around it. To finish the "embellishment": layer caramel onto red paper, stamp "BRRR", adhere the hat image (with foam dots) and snowflake. Add ribbons and fibers. The versatility of making these "Scrapbooks in a Bag" is that you can make extra embellishments and use them on cards!

5) We stamped all the images using the OMITTING Technique. All 5 completed pieces for our swap. We decided to try a quick scrapbook page just to show how cute these pieces look!

 

Our finished pieces added to one 12x12 page. These pieces were designed to be used on a 12x12 2-page layout.

You can find detailed directions for making the "Happy WInter" slide mount embellishment on our blog (posted in Jan 2008).

See also: HALLOWEEN Scrapbook in a Bag pieces and 2 page layout using the pieces. Find these photos in "Our Scrapbook Pages" or by clicking these links:

*  HALLOWEEN Scrapbook in a Bag --PIECES

* HALLOWEEN Scrapbook in a Bag -- Sample LAYOUT

BasicGrey Valentine Cards -- BLUSH paper collection

I'm a big fan of BasicGrey papers. So far, there hasn't been one of their paper collections I didn't like. Of course, there are some that are more favorite than others. BLUSH is one of those favorites. It's been referred to as a VALENTINE paper collection, but it can be used anytime!

We've made some VALENTINE cards using BasicGrey's BLUSH card kit. There was cardstock, chipboard, die-cuts, rub-ons and more. And the directions in the kit were so easy to follow (mostly pictures). This certainly helped simplify making cards.

Speaking of SIMPLIFY ... look at the cards in magazines and you'd think everyone spends hours on each card, using every embellishment or tool that was ever made. This simply isn't realistic for someone who actually wants to SEND cards! Sometimes, SIMPLE IS BETTER.

This tall & thin rectangle card is not the usual A2 (4 1/4 x 5 1/2") card. Just because we're trying to simplify doesn't mean we can't have some fun!

The design of this card is so simple, yet quite effective. The red heart is a shaped die-cut, the heart layered on top was just plain chipboard with paper glued on top. Then sand the edges.

Add a little rub-on sentiment and you're all finished with this card.

The next card is a square card which can be made any size. Square is sometimes very easy to work with as it's sort of like a scrapbook page (12x12, 6x6, 8x8).

This square card uses a LARGE PRINT for the background. Would you have thought to use such a pattern? Many of us would not. But it works well here, combined with 2 chipboard hearts that have been covered in coordinating paper. Each heart also has a rub-on sentiment.

We have the base card pink Bazzill cardstock, then brown BLUSH paper which we ripped, and then we layered the patterned paper on top. It's so simple, you could easily use this same SKETCH with a variety of papers and colors and not get bored.

Another square card, this time with a white base. The papers that were layered on top of the white base have rounded corners (that corner rounder punch comes in handy!). Look carefully at this SKETCH design. Two different prints divide the card -- stripe on bottom and pink square/floral on top. Then several strips of other coordinating BLUSH papers were added across the center of the card. Add two cardstock hearts layered one on top of the other and some rub-ons and this card is complete.

This card is really thinking outside of the BOX! It's a ROUND CARD. Fold cardstock in half, then cut a circle leaving about 1 to 2" at the top for the fold.

This card is SUPER simple. Take some scrap pieces of printed BLUSH papers. Cut different widths or lengths and layer on front of card (making a background).  For a different look, try using strips of ribbon (use up those scraps) or solid cardstock with stamped images.

Layer a large heart die-cut and chipboard heart over the scrap paper pieces. Don't forget a sentiment ... looks cute on the top heart.

The next card is another square card with a large square of chocolate with a layer of red paper on top. Cover the chipboard letters with brown and sand edges, do same with heart shape, and add XOXO rub-ons. Using small scrap pieces slightly larger than chipboard letters, cut 4 squares of different solid or print papers. Add the squares and the letters to the card as shown. A little rub-on sentiment at the bottom of the card sompletes this very cute and quick card.

Like we said, BLUSH papers are not just for VALENTINE's DAY. How about Anniversaries? Here's a cute anniversary card. Another long rectangular card, folded at the top. Take a strip of printed paper the length of the card and attach about 2/3 way down. Attach large die-cut printed heart and layer XO chipboard letters on top of the heart. Add rub-ons to make it truly unique.

These cards were designed by BasicGrey and all the materials came in the kit. Some of you just HAVE to add brads, ribbons, glitter or other embellishments. If you must, you must. But sometimes, it's just nice to go totally SIMPLE.